After a survey found that students didn’t feel safe in their Pueblo, Colorado community, the Safe Haven for Pueblo Bullying Victims Project stepped in to make a difference.

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students group got help from more than 700 students to design posters denouncing bullying. They then reached out to business owners to hang the posters in their windows, to show their community support for the project. The posters alert students that these businesses will provide a refuge for them if they are being bullied or feel unsafe. The business owners agreed to help youth arrange for someone to pick up any students who are being bullied and to let them wait there until a safe ride arrives.Continue Reading

Recent media publicity around suicides by youth who were bullied by their peers has led many to assume that bullying often leads directly to suicide. Although youth who are involved in bullying are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide than those who are not involved in bullying, research indicates that other risk factors play a larger role in suicidal behavior.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month! Dating violence can happen to any teen in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship, anytime, anywhere. It can happen in person or online with a current or former dating partner. Bullying involves acts of violence, power or control of one person over another. But it does not have to happen at all.

On the surface, bullying and youth substance use may seem like separate problems. However, from research, we know that kids who use drugs or alcohol are at risk for other problem behaviors during their teen years. Recent findings confirm previous studies that found links between bullying and substance use. In a recent article, researchers found that middle and high school students who bully their peers or are bully-victims (bully others and are also bullied) are more likely than students who aren’t involved in bullying to use alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.Continue Reading